Tim Tebow has not been kidnapped and murdered…

However, like a cute, doomed little girl, Tebow is getting his name attached to state legislation. “The Tim Tebow Bill” is shorthand for measures that would allow home-schooled children to participate in their public school’s extracurricular activities — such as Tebow was allowed to do in Nease, Fla., before he became a Heisman Trophy-, championship-winning quarterback. Here is one example of usage from the Bowling Green (Ky.) Daily News:

A house bill would allow home-schooled students to participate in public school sports, music events and other extracurricular activities.

And while 24 other states have adopted similar bills and more are considering the legislation, local school authorities said they still have a lot of questions about the “Tim Tebow Bill,” HB 179, that need answers.

According to the bill proposed by Rep. Brad Montell, R-Shelbyville, home-schooled students would not be “discriminated against” from participating in interscholastic extracurricular activities after guidelines are determined for student enrollment and a waiting period is specified for when a student transfers from a public school to a home school.

Montell said in a news release that the bill was inspired by Tim Tebow, a Florida football quarterback who went on to become the first sophomore to win the Heisman trophy at the University of Florida after a similar law allowed the home-schooled student to participate in public high school athletics.

“While most everyone knows who Tim Tebow is and of his many accomplishments in football at the University of Florida, they do not know that Tim Tebow never attended public school for academics because he was home schooled,” Montell said. “But thanks to a Florida law that allows home-schooled students to compete in high school sporting events, Tebow was able to excel in a sport … shouldn’t we provide our home-schooled children that same opportunity?”

The bill also promises home-schoolers the right and opportunity to grow or motorboat extremely large breasts.

The Home School Legal Defense Association,which does not seem Creepy Christian in the least, says Kentucky is one of nine states trying to pass Tebow bills (the use of the name is especially popular in states featuring teams Tebow beats the crap out of). Alabama’s backers, which have been trying for three years, already have registered timtebowbill.com, although with how things usually go in college sports, it should only be a matter of time before someone puts up a site called firetimtebowbill.com.

Twenty-four states already have such laws, including Tebow’s native Florida, which was a pioneer of these laws with the original, the Craig Dickinson Act of 1996. (The late Dickinson was a father who home-schooled his children.)

I’ll say first that I have known the pain and discrimination of having my children barred from participating in a school’s athletic program just because I chose not to send them there. After pulling my kids out of Catholic school, but keeping them in CCD, I was told my sons would be allowed to play football — but that no other kids could play no other sports, even though other area Catholic schools allowed their CCD kids to do the same. Perhaps I should sue, or get the Illinois legislature to pass a Bob Cook Act!

Or I could do what I did, and what so many homeschool parents are loathe to do — realize that when you pull your child out of a school, you no longer have a god-given right to cherry-pick activities for them from that school. Of course, I was dealing with a private school. But I’m amazed that home-schooling parents would find the local public schools too evil or just not good enough for everyday use, yet go running to them when they realize they can’t replicate a cheerleading program at home.

Homeschool parents’ argument is that they should be able to use the school because their tax money goes there. True, except that by not sending their child there, they are depriving schools state and other funding based on enrollment and daily attendance. Also, there is a question of whether home-schoolers are included in schools’ after-school activity insurance policies. Anyway, if their kids are on their way to being the Tebow of their activity, the parents might be better off paying for camps and private, elite programs, the kind college coaches watch more closely than high school games.

If the home-schoolers are going to be allowed in — and take the place of someone who goes to that school every day — they should meet strict academic requirements (which many Tebow laws dictate), and they should have to pay not only any fees charged to other kids (also a part of many of these laws), but some sort of premium to make up for the tax money not collected on their behalf and any premium for extra insurance the school requires. Otherwise, start a homeschooler football team.

9 Responses

Recently I had this conversation with a friend and a family member.Here in California they allow homeschool kids to participate in the sports program.My sport, track as well as all the others.

The state doesn’t allow the children to run “unattached” so if the schools doesn’t allow the child to participate the child could /would miss out on the opportunity that intramural sports offers.

Many parents home school for religious and sports reasons and I understand the why (home schooling) of it but it does make it tough on the athlete. When the child does participate, the school gets credit for that time on campus or training.So they are paying for what they use aren’t they?

If my kid was the Tebow of track I think she would still need to run high school because it is such a big step toward college,nothing duplicates that expereince interms of outside activity(JO’s through youth age group teams)

It wouldn’t be impossible but she would have to really be rolling for me to pull that off.

Believe parents need to make the choice that fits their family best.Tebow doesn’t looked harmed by the experience.. :-)

I am all for the home schooled athletes. Now, I gotta get to bed cause I have to take my kid to school tomorrow morning…. LOL

I saw a funny picture of Nancy disGrace with the following comment placed into the picture. It reads “Every time a child is murdered, Nancy Grace has an orgasm.” Just hilarious, yet probably so accurate. She thrives on victimizing real victims of crimes. Since Nancy was never a victim of any crime in her lifetime, she remains clue-less to the damage she does to real actual victims of crimes.

[…] who are not allowed, under state law, to play at their local public schools. (You can read more here about so-called Tim Tebow bills, named for the two-time Heisman-winning Florida quarterback who was […]

very very remarkable about tim tebow being homed schooled . this country has sure paid a BIG PRICE for takeing the bible out of public schools and putting condoms in them . ive only got a 8th grade education but i truly believe that had the bible stayed in public schools our kids would have had a better chance at life . and those 10 commandments are commandments not sugustions . i believe the tebow family and most home schooler familys use the bible as there ROADMAP FOR THERE LIFE and they sure seemed to be blessed for there faithfullness IT WORKS ps. and i bet some of those home schoolers have been able to let there light shine at athletic events GOD knows the world needs it GOD BLESS THEM btiacog

[…] as he has so many games, a Bible cite on his eyeblack. (Tebow was Christian-home-schooled, and his name has been invoked in many states in legislation that would allow home-schooled students to play on public school sports teams, as […]

[…] allowance to play on his public school football team has inspired states to pass what are called “Tim Tebow laws” to allow other homeschoolers to play on school teams, which also makes him the only person not […]